A study by the University of Birmingham, led by Abidemi Otaiku, a NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Neurology, indicates that disturbed sleep, specifically frequent nightmares that awaken you during the night, might be an early warning sign of dementia risk in middle-aged to older adults.
The 2022 research highlights that people in mid-life experiencing weekly bad dreams could be four times more prone to cognitive decline over the next ten years. For older individuals, the regular occurrence of nightmares doubles the likelihood of a dementia diagnosis.
The study revealed a stronger correlation in men than women when it comes to dreams influencing the onset of dementia. According to the findings, older males experiencing weekly nightmares faced a fivefold increase in their dementia risk, whereas women had a 41% rise, reports Surrey Live.
Science Alert featured Abidemi explaining the implications: “These results suggest frequent nightmares may be one of the earliest signs of dementia, which can precede the development of memory and thinking problems by several years or even decades – especially in men.
“Alternatively, it is also possible that having regular bad dreams and nightmares might even be a cause of dementia. Given the nature of this study, it is not possible to be certain which of these theories is correct (though I suspect it is the former).
“However, regardless of which theory turns out to be true – the major implication of the study remains the same, that is, that having regular bad dreams and nightmares during middle and older age may be linked to an increased risk of developing dementia later in life.”
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